​This scam is identical to the RCI getaway or bonus week reported in Dec of 2012 with Access Travel Network. This time the company in question is Business Corporate Travel (BCT). They have a website. The deal was for me to 'activate' my expiring 6 bonus weeks with RCI ($399 per week) so they could resell them to corporations for event travel in Orlando area. I would receive between $1600 - $1800 per week. They could not do a single week, it had to be all weeks at once. The associated contact numbers provided were 321 275 0968 and 407 743 3341.: 

​.....TonjaC

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A reader has submitted a possible timeshare scam alert regarding another group that appears to be operating out of Florida.  The reader described the standard "Rent Your Bonus Weeks" telemarketing scam, but did state the caller already had all his ownership and account information from Bluegreen. The caller used this information to create the impression of legitimacy, and also claimed to have an affiliation with RCI- promising to pay at least $1,400 for each "bonus week" rented.  It's always important for readers to remember that fraudulent telemarketers often purchase black market owner lists that are stolen from timeshare developers- and thus can easily pretend to have a direct connection to that timeshare company. The easiest way to protect yourself, is to hang up the phone and call your resort management company directly (that phone number can be found on your last maintenance fee bill). As the owner services rep who answers to check your account to see if there are any notes on your account showing your information was given to a rental service.  Once you've established it's a scam, simply file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov/

........Details about the Scam
I was contacted in mid-October by a company called Rent My Time, Inc. out of Orlando, Florida. They noted how they can list my timeshare bonus weeks and require $350 upfront to activate the weeks. They also made me sign documents stating obligation to pay. I activated a month ($1500). The website appears to be legitimate and there were multiple people working the system. They offered a minimum base amount of $1400 per week in exchange. They state that they get paid by RCI when they book people who get tours and actually buy points through RCI. They also had ALL my information already before I even told them - they had my address, billing information, bluegreen account number, etc.......

​A. Smith

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We received a new scam alert from a reader, and it provides a great example of how a fraudulent telemarketer can target a timeshare owner with a promise to sell their unwanted timeshare. If an owner isn't familiar with the expected cost or process to transfer their timeshare, they are in danger of being scammed with demands for wildly inflated closing fees and fake taxes.  While this type of scam is most common for resorts located in Mexico, telemarketers and online trolls will target any timeshare owner.

..." I received an offer of $17900 for my timeshare at shadow ridge in Palm Springs,California. Monica Moore said there would no expenses just $1845 for the cost of the Title this was to be to the office by a cashiers check on December 13,2021. Then on January 5, 2022. I received a request for a cashiers check of$1790 for taxes which would be returned at closing. Monica said it was common procedure the selling of timeshare. Monica said the process would be completed by Friday January 21,2022. When I called her, she didn’t answer or return my calls. When called on the phone number was disconnected or changed. I checked with my bank and the checks have been cashed. All I am asking is for my to be returned...."

These scams are common, but consumers can protect themselves in several ways:

Step 1: Any timeshare owner who is thinking of selling their vacation ownership interest can take a lesson from the above story.  One of the very first steps for a timeshare owner should always be to contact your resort management company and ask for the current resort requirements to transfer ownership. In this particular example, Marriott would have provided an info sheet explaining their right of first refusal process, as well as the requirements of a new recorded deed and a transfer fee. In California, since property taxes are collected separately from maintenance fees- the seller or closing agent also has to notify the county tax collector of the change in ownership.  A complete timeshare closing for a property in California (including escrow and a title search) would likely cost around $650.  plus any resort or HOA transfer fees. Knowing the estimated cost and the required process to transfer your timeshare will help you to identify the lies and avoid the inflated charges the con artist would ask you to pay.

Step 2: If your resort isn't helpful and won't provide transfer info, contact any respected timeshare closing agency and ask for a quote. You can simply google "timeshare closing agency" to locate several great choices. Just remember that you have to scroll past the paid advertisements in your google search results.  If you don't know what that last sentence means, ask a family member for help or simply visit your local library and tell the librarian that you need some help finding a legitimate business on the internet. You can also 'CLICK HERE' to contact us at Vacation-Times.org and we'll be happy to provide you with a referral.  We've also published a help sheet on the basic process to transfer a deeded timeshare in the United States which can be found 'HERE'. 

Step 3: If possible, you can list with a licensed real estate broker- who would walk you step by step through the complete sale and transfer process. This has gotten increasingly difficult over the years however, as the expected resale values for timeshares continue to decline and legitimate brokers are able to accept fewer and fewer listings. Large brands such as Disney Vacation Club, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Westin, etc may still have enough resale potential that enlisting a broker is possible. The key things to keep in mind here are: 1) Legitimate brokers DO NOT telemarket to solicit customers....   and 2) Consumers should NEVER pay any large upfront or advance fee to sell your timeshare.  

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A possible timeshare scam alert was just submitted by reader, Larry S, warning about a potential bait and switch rental scheme being perpetrated by a group using the name "Resort Rental Pros" on the VRBO website. The business appears to have a number of active adverts on VRBO for timeshare resorts, notably Club Wyndham properties. VRBO classifies the "host account" as a "Premier" account, which can create a false sense of security for consumers.

At first glance when the advert was reviewed, I noticed a red flag that I commonly see on both VRBO and AirBnB, in that the availability calendar shows almost fully open during the calendar year for the host property.  This is a common error, as both of those advertising systems were originally designed to work with a single-unit listing, and not advertise a multi-unit hotel or timeshare resort. Since the availability calendars between the marketing website and the resort developer do not work or communicate with each other, the VRBO and AirBnB calendars may often show false availability.  This can sometimes be attributed to simple error on the part of the advertiser or perhaps a failure to update frequently, but it can also be an indication that they are simply fishing for rental leads- which they hope to fulfill somehow before the arrival date by "finding" the availability at a later time. 

Resort Rental Pros currently has an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau and shows a number of complaints filed by consumers. Likewise, on TrustPilot there appear to be numerous complaints, some of which also parrot the bait and switch warning.  Another concern would be that the business addresses used on those two consumer information sites do not match. Again, this could simply be caused by a failure to update the information properly- but it adds yet another potential warning flag for the business.

As a general rule, I do not recommend that consumers search for timeshare rentals on marketing platforms such as VRBO and AirBnB- simply due to the high number of complaints about errors in availability and last-minute cancelations.  Those venues are much better able to service individual homes and condos, and are often not designed for timeshare systems.

If you believe that you have been the victim of online consumer fraud perpetrated by Resort Rental Pros, please report the crime to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at ​www.ic3.gov/.  You may file a complaint with the IC3 if you believe you have been the victim of an Internet crime or if you want to file on behalf of another person you believe has been such a victim.  

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​A possible new telemarketing scam was reported by a reader, Charles R.... As always, if you receive a telemarketing call about your timeshare- protect yourself and HANG UP THE PHONE!  If you believe that you have been the victim of telemarketing fraud, please take a moment to report the issue to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/  and to the FBI internet crime division at https://www.ic3.gov/

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"Received a cold-call from Capital Investment Holdings, LLC, 102 S. Tejon St, Colo Springs, CO, offering to 'rent my timeshare weeks.' I'm an attorney and suspected it was a scam, and wanted to confirm before posting. I have to admit this group was good at disguising the vulnerabilities and presented a good front. They first offer to rent 10weeks of your timeshare, which turns out to be over the next 10yrs. For this, they offered approximately $24,000 dollars. The catch is in the contract. Reading it carefully, the 'Investor' they represent has deposited the $24K in an escrow account from which Capital has withheld 5%. Reading closely, the Lessor, i.e., me, has to pay Capital a 5% commission up front. The contract looks fully legit. It does, however, contain a clause that says 'if either party fails to comply with their portion of the agreement, THEN CAPITAL INVESTMENT GETS TO RETAIN ALL FUNDS PAID TO THEM.' [EMPHASIS ADDED] In other words, they want you to pay them 5% (about $1100 in this case) and when the deal falls through, which it no doubt will, then they keep your 5%. A legitimate purchase or rent agreement with an escrow deposit would have the funds withheld from that escrow.

Clearly these guys are working the old timeshare scam where there is no 'upfront' costs at first, then they start asking for funds in small amounts for a deal that never occurs.

Beware of Capital Investment Holdings. The purported agents were Daniel Spetz and Scott Stevensen, and James Glenn. They have a second front office called S.E. Financial Services Advisors in Westminster Colorado. Francisco Javi"

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Another reader, Kimberly F, reported a possible telemarketing scam which appears to be using the same old con of a  "guaranteed rental of your RCI getaway weeks"...  As always, the business name and phone numbers always change- but the basic pitch is always the same. An empty promise to rent some magical bonus weeks from RCI.  All you have to do is pay an upfront fee and be really gullible :)   The fraudulent telemarketers are hoping you fail to do a simple google search for RCI Getaway Week Scam!   Don't be fooled.. HANG UP THE PHONE!!!

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​"...Resort Rental Industries, LLC for only $399 per week for my RCI getaway weeks, they guarantee a minimum of $1,400 in rental income. First call came from 786-783-4515. Second call came from 844-573-6868...."

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This is a little bit of old news, issued on a press release back in August- but I thought it was a worth revisiting as it shows how the telemarketing operators out of Mexico use multiple fake business names and websites to cold call timeshare owners across the Americas with fake purchase offers for timeshares located inside Mexico.  These con artists purchase black market owner lists, often from resort employees, which they then use to contact timeshare owners. The telemarketing pitch always involves a high sale price for a Mexican timeshare ownership, and a fake closing company to process the transfer. There are then fake closing fees, fake government taxes, etc that are extorted from the timeshare owner- always with the promise that after wiring money to a Mexican bank the seller's proceeds will be released. Of course, it always turns our that the buyer is a fake- the closing agent is a fake, and somehow the Mexican bank never seems to be able to return the money that was stolen.  As always, the BEST way to protect yourself from the Mexican timeshare scam- is simply to HANG UP on any telemarketing calls you get about your timeshare!   Follows is an excerpt from the release:

"....NEW ORLEANS –JESUS ADRIAN LEDESMA BERNAL, a/k/a JSS, age 32, a resident and citizen of Mexico, was sentenced today to 18 months in the Bureau of Prisons after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the Eastern District of Louisiana, announced U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser.
​
As detailed in the factual basis and superseding bill of information, the defendants, from at least January 1, 2016, to the present, conspired together and with others to commit wire fraud in connection with a telemarketing scheme that targeted and victimized persons in the United States, Canada and South America. As part of the elaborate scheme, the conspirators made unsolicited phone calls to owners of resort timeshare properties to induce them into paying fees associated with the bogus sale of their property. The defendants misrepresented the existence of a buyer for their timeshare and solicited money from the victims to facilitate the sale. They solicited the timeshare owners to enter into agreements to sell their timeshares and pay for alleged “closing costs” with electronic wire transfers from banking institutions within the United States to Mexican banks. There were no interested buyers, the closings did not occur, and the timeshares were not resold. Instead, the conspirators simply pocketed the advanced fees. Of the U.S. victims, 40 were age 60 and older and the total estimated loss is at least $10,000,000.

The defendants, who are all based in Mexico, operated under the business names Planet Travel and Newport International Investments, and at other times used the following business names: Advance Travel INC, All American Real Estate, American International Investment Group, Bear Claw Travel, Best Investment Services, Champion Properties, Closing Source LLC, Equity Closing Services Group, Global Offshore Services, NSC Holding, Peach Title, Sandia Title, Travel and Acquisitions, Travel Innovations, Travel Plus Acquisitions, Travel Right, and World Travelers, Inc. All of these domain websites have been seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice.

BERNAL, who worked as a telemarketer, was ordered to pay restitution of $127,000 USD, a fee of $100.00, and he is subject to deportation after serving 18 months....."

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Same telemarketing scam that has been reported multiple times by our readers, this time allegedly using the business name of Getaway Network....

"...I was contacted by Getaway Network by phone telling me I had 6 weeks of RCI Get-away time. Would I consider renting those weeks? I would be required to pay $399 per week to active my weeks, then they could be rented for $1400-$1600 per week - GUARNATEED! I did not provide credit card information. I told the representative to call back when my spouse was home. I was provided with the representatives name and phone number to call him when I had my credit card available. After researching the company on line, I found information stating Getaway Network is a scam....

Sharon H."

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Good news and bad news for our loyal readers!  The good news is that the overall number of timeshare related telemarketing scams seem to be declining. I assume that many of those call centers have moved on to other fraudulent activity, perhaps peddling fake Covid remedies or perhaps even the well known "IRS is about to arrest you" scam. Regardless, the con artists don't seem to be working as hard to steal from timeshare owners right now... 

However, the bad news is that there is at least one telemarketer who keeps their automated dialer working the blackmarket timeshare lists. We have been receiving multiple alerts about the RCI Getaway rental scam. The company names and phone numbers being used by the telemarketers vary, but the fraudulent sales pitch has remained basically unchanged since 2012. 

A telemarketer cold calls you, telling you they either work for RCI or are affiliated with RCI. They'll reinforce this lie by telling you details about your timeshare ownership- information they have either pulled from the calling list they obtained or simply by reviewing public records to see a copy of your deed. They will then tell you that you have a large number of RCI getaway weeks that will expire soon. Lucky for you, they have reached you in time! They have a corporate partner (always the mysterious corporate partner) who will guarantee you rentals paying you between $1,400 to $1,900 per week! All you need to do is lock in the getaway weeks by paying $399 per week upfront. 

HINT... HINT.... HINT....  Train your brain that when your ears hear the word "upfront", your mind interprets it as "hang up the phone".  Then, simply- hang up the phone! 

The RCI Getaway Rental call is not real.. It is a scam! It has been a scam since 2012, and will continue to be a scam until well into the future.   As always, thank you for reading. Stay safe, stay smart, and keep hanging up that phone!

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A new possible timeshare scam alert was just reported warning consumers about another business attempting the telemarketing scam promising to rent "unused" RCI getaways for thousands of dollars. ​The consumer did a great job of vetting the fraud attempt, but I wanted to share their report since this same scam has been active for years. It was first reported on this website back in 2012 Click HERE to read! One of the most troubling issues with this scam is that RCI is aware of these telemarketers and seminars which pretend to be either affiliates of, or partners with, the exchange company. After years of these scams taking advantage of RCI members, little has been done by the exchange companies to protect or even simply warn their members. It would seem a simple solution to create a system where a member could notify RCI, prompting a standard cease-and-desist letter and a warning published to their members. As always, stay up to date with free timeshare scam alerts and keep yourself protected from timeshare related telemarketing scams! 

".... I just got a call from someone claiming to be with RCI and they want me to sell me "6 weeks of getaways" with them for a guaranteed $1400-$1800 per week but it would cost me $399 per each week!  They proceeded to send me to their "specialist" and she gave me a website to look at www.corphousingsys.com where it makes it look legit but I am NOT that stupid!!! I will NOT give them any money. FUNNY THING IS I NO LONGER EVEN HAVE A TIMESHARE WITH RCI!!!! ..."

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